Strange
by dreamingofinsanity
Summary: *Minor edits* Derek is acting strange. Chloe is determined to find out why. Bad summary but please R & R! Set after The Awakening, a little bit into The Reckoning. One shot! Rating is cautious. R & R!


A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first darkest powers fic so I'm a bit nervous. Be nice!

This fic is set in the safe house at the end of The Awakening. I know The Reckoning is out and everyone has already read it and all of this crazy stuff has already happened but I haven't read it so I have written this to amuse myself. Chloe and the gang have been at the safe house for a little while and Derek has been acting mysterious and avoiding Chloe. Chloe is determined to figure out what is going on.

Please review after reading! Constructive criticism is welcome but no flames please!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers series; it all belongs to Kelley Armstrong.

Oh! Just to let you know, I was listening to_Bahara___and_Bin Tere___from_I Hate Luv Stories_(It's a Hindi song) as I was writing this so if y'all want you could listen to it while reading it to get into the mood I was in.

My eyes flew open into the darkness of my room. I inhaled loudly and turned to look at the alarm clock on my bedside table. The loud red digits on it told me it was way to early in the morning to wake up, even by Lyle House standards. So why was I awake?

Some vague idea flitted through my brain. A dream I'd had, involving… Derek? I tried mentally searching for what had been happening in the dream but came up with only a vague idea. I blushed. Somehow that vague idea involved Derek only in his boxers. _Thank goodness Derek can't read minds along with his other supernatural powers._

There was a soft light coming through the window. I had a feeling I wasn't going to get more shuteye, especially since that hint of my dream was still tantalizing me from the depths of my brain.

I got up, trying to be quiet since Tori was in the bed on the other side of the room, her snores telling me she was still deep in the land of sleep, and tiptoed out of the room and into the bathroom.

I was glad she was finally getting regular proper sleep. Before we'd arrived here, at the Safe House, we'd all had very little time to get a good night's sleep.

However, I couldn't believe I had actually fallen asleep. Last night I had been so worried that I would raise something- human or animal- in my sleep, the poor animal's spirit stuck and suffering in it's mangled body… Derek had told me there was nothing close by that I could raise but he had said that a week and a half ago and what if some forest animal had only recently died? With the thick forest all around us, it was definitely possible.

I _had_ slept though and my dreams hadn't been horrific either. Just… Derek. An image of his nearly naked body popped up in my mind.

No! I had to stop thinking about that; I had to stop thinking about him in that way. Even though we were a lot closer since I had helped him with his second change, we weren't that close. I mostly irritated him because I always put myself into dangerous situations he felt obligated to help me out of and he was, I don't know, a friend, an ally, a…

I don't know. Somehow I felt more tied to him than I did to Simon. But I didn't _like_ him. I liked Simon. Right?

Something deep inside me thumped at that thought but I ignored it.

Shaking my head, I looked into the mirror over the sink. The horrible black dye was fading out fast now and the only remnants left of it was a grey tinge to my hair. Andrew was saying we would have to dye it again before I ever went out again, but I was content to stay in mostly in the house for now. After weeks without basic things like hot water and decent meals, just staying inside was heavenly.

The bags under my eyes seemed lighter than usual, perhaps thanks to the full night's sleep I had just gotten. All in all, I was looking a lot more normal.

After brushing my teeth, I headed downstairs to see what there was to eat.

Having been here for about a week already, I was used to the set-up of the house. So I was surprised when, upon entering the kitchen door, I hit a seemingly solid wall.

Backing up a step, I looked up to see Derek giving me an uncharacteristic frown. Not that Derek was usually a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. I thought we were past the glaring and grunting stage though.

Then again, with the way he had been acting since we arrived here, this was his behaviour pattern- around me at least.

"Hey Derek," I said and for some reason my heart turned over as I looked up into his emerald eyes.

He just arched a brow, grunted and resumed munching on his apple. I could see that just past him on the table, there was a whole bunch of food stacked up on what I presumed was his plate.

"Why are you standing in the entrance?" I asked, moving past him to the cupboard, which I opened and grabbed a plate from.

"Just," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Didn't realize you were going to come downstairs."

"Uh, ok… Is there any more food left or are you going to eat it all?" I was teasing but his expression changed into one of those inscrutable ones and he grumbled, "It doesn't matter, you can have it, I'm not hungry."

The he retreated like the Edison Group was on his heels, leaving me super confused. _Derek wasn't hungry enough to finish the food he had prepared for himself? What on Earth?_ Was it what I had said? I hadn't been serious and I thought he knew me well enough to know that. Maybe not?

And what about what he had said earlier, about not realizing I was coming downstairs. As a werewolf, his senses would have let him know what everyone, including me, was doing. He should have known I was coming down to the kitchen.

Unless he was seriously deep in thought? But what could he have been thinking about so deeply that he wasn't aware of what was going on around him?

His behaviour had been like that since we had arrived though. I should be used to it.

Looking at the overflowing plate of food, I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. I _wasn't_ used to it and I wouldn't be until I got a logical explanation from him.

We had been closer than ever only a little while ago, so why was he acting like we had gone back in time and were still at Lyle House?

I turned around and left the kitchen. I couldn't just let this go. I didn't like it one bit and I wasn't stupid enough to not notice the difference, which is what he probably thought.

The stairs creaked a bit as I walked up them but even if they hadn't, Derek would know I was headed his way. Hopefully he wouldn't try to hide from me.

At the top of the stairs, I turned left, the stopped at the second door. Its paint was kind of faded and the knob looked worn and old. I knocked on the door. There was a groan; a thump, some shuffling and Simon opened the door.

His eyes were kind of glazed over but when he saw it was me, he gave a wide grin. "Hey Chloe. To what do I owe this early morning pleasure?"

Thankfully, he was wearing more clothes than Derek did when he slept or I would have been bright red. The tight wife beater he was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination though and I could feel my cheeks turning pink.

"Is Derek there?" His face fell a little bit and I felt kind of guilty, though of course I wasn't doing anything wrong.

He didn't say anything that would make me feel guiltier. "No, he got up ages ago and I haven't noticed him come back in or anything. I was asleep though. Why, is there a problem?"

"No, nothing is wrong. I just needed to…" Something inside of me said _kiss_ but I pushed that thought away and finished, "talk to him."

I felt even guiltier, again for no reason. I didn't really like Simon like _that_ and I didn't like Derek that way either.

That image of a barely dressed Derek popped into my mind again, unbidden.

I blushed deeper at that thought but managed to say bye to Simon without stuttering or saying something random about Derek.

The bathroom was empty as well, so I went up to the roof. Scene of the crime. Well, sort of. It was where I'd had an encounter with a teenage ghost, during which I had almost gotten killed.

Why Derek would be up here, I wasn't sure but I was running out of ideas. It was dangerous; the wood floor was rotting but maybe he had wanted some fresh air? We weren't allowed out of the house by ourselves.

He was there, despite any danger, only just on the balcony, leaning against the frame of the entry door. His broad back was to me.

"Derek?" I tiptoed towards him; sure he could hear me anyways. However, he didn't react at all. _Strange behaviour once again._

"Derek?" I repeated, tapping his shoulder as I did. He didn't jump in reaction, just slowly turned around to face me. His expression was a little bit annoyed, his scowl a bit bigger than usual. There was also some other indefinable emotion else there on his face and somehow just looking at it made my heart beat a little faster.

"What do you want Chloe?" His tone wasn't exactly impatient but he didn't seem happy I was around either.

"I want to know what is going on. Ever since we got here, you have been avoiding me or acting really strange. Why? D-did I do something? I thought we were friends."

All of a sudden, I thought of what kind of movie this scene would be in. The romantic kind, where the boy is secretly crushing on the girl but doesn't think he's good enough so he pushes her away, and the girl, confused, hounds him until he confesses.

_This_ wasn't that kind of scene though. Derek didn't like me and I didn't like him either.

Some annoying inner voice said, _Yeah, right,_and snorted in my ear. For some reason the voice sounded like Tori.

Derek was looking kind of pained and frustrated, which I didn't understand. He hid that quickly though, going back to his regular inscrutable expression.

"It's nothing," he replied, "You're imagining things. Go eat breakfast."

"No Derek, it's not nothing. You've been acting different." I took a step closer to him and he took a step sideways, colliding with the other side of the doorframe. "Just tell me what's wrong."

He ran his fingers through his hair, looking conflicted. All he said was, "It's nothing ok? Leave me alone."

I took another step closer, giving him my best angry look. He couldn't step away to avoid me now, since he was pressed up against the doorframe and I was inches away.

"No, I won't leave you alone! Derek, I thought you t-trusted me. Why can't you j-just tell me what's bothering you?"

Derek frowned, like he was having some sort of intense internal dilemma. He looked somewhat like a caged animal, desperate for an escape.

"Chloe…"

My name being whispered like it was the only thing that would save a dying man was the only warning I had.

Because the next thing I knew, he had rushed forward, despite the fact that we were inches apart, grabbed my face, though not roughly, and pressed his lips to mine.

For a moment, I didn't move. The kiss was worried, frustrated, and desperate while still exceedingly gentle.

Then, breaking through my shock, I kissed him back just as passionately. It was my first kiss and it couldn't have been better. My body was on fire wherever it was in contact with his and I couldn't help but sigh into his mouth.

It was completely perfect and exactly what I wanted.

_Derek, _not Simon, was all I wanted and I knew that was what my subconscious had been trying to tell me with that dream and those little nudges from that inner voice.

_Was this why he had been avoiding me?_ I thought, as he backed me up to the wall, one hand now in my hair.

Abruptly, he jerked away and turned around.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding at once happy and yet filled with regret. I could hear him gasping like he had just returned from a run.

"Are y-you r-r-really?" My stuttering was only partly due to nerves; I was trying to control my breathing as well.

He turned to face me and his expression was dark, his eyes like a storm of self-loathing, regret, as well as quite a few other emotions.

"It doesn't matter," his eyes wouldn't meet mine, "not if you regretted it."

His eyes held mine and he was staring into them like he was trying to lift the response he wanted out of them.

_If this were a movie scene what would the actress in my place do?_

I didn't know, so I did what I wanted to. "I d-didn't," deep breath, "I didn't regret it."

He looked confused and shocked. I could feel myself going as red as a strawberry.

"You didn't? What? I thought- Simon?"

"I-I liked it. I-I-I-I like y-you, not Simon. For a while, I-I thought I did like him. But I haven't- I don't like him like that. Its kind of been… slowly dawning on me."

He rushed me again and kissed me like I was an oasis and he was a starving man. I kissed him back just as hard and he growled into my mouth.

I needed air soon after though and so I pulled back. He didn't stop though; just started trailing hot kisses down my jaw line and then down my neck. He stopped once he reached my collarbone, his hot breath ruffling the top of my shirt, making me shiver.

Then he raised his head and rested his forehead against mine.

"God, Chloe. I like you too. A lot."


End file.
